Pulling some Quality Money from its pocket, the Students’ Union is planning to build the new Students’ Union Wellness Centre to improve current services on the third floor of MacEwan Student Centre.
Former SU president Brian West successfully negotiated a “Quality Money” deal, meaning the SU and Graduate Students’ Association receive a percentage of that year’s tuition increase–dubbed Quality Money–in order to improve the “student experience.”
“Tuition consultation begins in Dec. at the Board of Governors [meeting],” said SU president Julie Bogle. “At that time the Board of Governors decides how much tuition is going to increase. Brian West, in his first term, negotiated with the Board of Governors to give a percentage of the tuition increase back to students–to both the Graduate Students’ Association and the Students’ Union. There’s really about $1.7 million released to the students. The GSA gets approximately $300,000, and we get approximately $1.4 million. The SU creates a Quality Money committee sometime in the summer. We appoint from the elected officials, and every executive sits on the committee so every portfolio is represented. Then that committee actually selects the proposals, [which] from mid-September to mid-November we accept. Anyone can apply from the campus community. The Quality Money committee then chooses the projects and allocates the money to those projects. They focus on bettering the student experience to the largest number of students possible.”
One of the quality money projects currently in the planning stages is the new SU Wellness Centre. Not only will it bring a dentist on-campus for the first time, it will also provide educational services, and with spots on the board reserved for SU members, allow students to ensure they are receiving quality service.
“It’s actually going to be the ‘SU Wellness Centre,’” said Bogle. “It’s going to add a dental office, which is pretty huge. It’s also going to really focus on teaching and learning opportunities. The other thing that’s nice about it is it’s going to have an advisory board, which we have already been invited to be a part of.”
The dentist has already been found and will add to the three other services, whose integration in the new facility will streamline services.
“We’ve worked with the SU and the Undergraduate Health and Dental Plan to secure a dentist,” said Wellness Centre director Debbie Bruckner. “The contract hasn’t actually been signed yet, but we have a dentist, the same dentist who currently provides service under the plan. [Also] there will be the integration of three existing services which are: Health Services, Multi-Faith Chaplains, and counselling. The other services will be enhanced by integrating them and increasing collaboration between them.”
Students can expect current services to remain in place during construction, which is anticipated to begin this spring.
“No service is actually going to stop during the construction,” said Bogle. “Some of the space up there now will be relocated.”
The university is matching the SU’s contribution of $700,000–saved up over two years– for the facility’s construction.